A disagreement between J.C. Penney Corp. and Great Lakes Mall will not be resolved in time for the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season, as both sides have different interpretations of the settlement agreement.
The Plano, Texas-based retailer filed a lawsuit in August in Lake County Common Pleas Court to stop construction of a new Dick’s Sporting Goods store at the Mentor mall.
The suit claims Simon Property Group, the mall’s Indianapolis-based landlord, illegally put up a construction fence for Dick’s that obstructs visibility and access to JCPenney.
Now, JCPenney attorney Yelena Boxer is claiming Simon Property is breaking its settlement agreement to stop construction and restore the parking lot.
Judge Joe Gibson previously ruled the fencing and construction violated JCPenney’s lease and closed the case.
“... You’re going to restore the parking, you may not do that with a smile on your face but the parking is being restored until a Court of wiser jurisdiction than mine tells you no, you don’t have to do that or you shouldn’t have had to do that,” the judge said at a September hearing.
On Nov. 6, JCPenney attorneys requested Simon Property confirm that a stop work order had been issued and restoration of the parking lot had begun.
On Nov. 7, Simon’s attorneys said they had instead appealed the judge’s decision.
“Simon has ignored both the Court’s Order and Settlement Agreement,” Boxer said in court documents. “Continued construction is a flagrant violation of this agreement reached in open court...”
Simon Property attorney John D. Parker is arguing it makes no sense for them to tear down the Dick’s building before the 11th District Court of Appeals rules on the trial court’s decision.
“The parties do not agree on what they ostensibly agreed to,” Parker said in his response to JCPenney’s emergency motion to enforce the settlement agreement.
“... The parties have different understandings of what Simon meant when it informed the court that it was preserving its appellate rights in this matter,” Parker added. “In JCP’s view, Simon agreed to stop working on the new Dick’s store and restore the parking lot despite Simon’s appeal, although counsel for JCP added at the Court’s Nov. 8 ... hearing that Simon’s obligation to restore the property could be stayed by the (Court of Appeals).”
Since the construction, JCPenney sales have plummeted 25 percent, according to the suit.
JCPenney leases about 163,000 square feet at Great Lakes Mall. The lease expires in October 2015, with the right to extend it until 2030.